Garry,
When we get feedback from students and let them know we consider their feedback carefully as we revise the course, it becomes very meaningful for them to give the feedback. I think it's very valuable. Thanks!
Garry & Richard,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. Keep up the good work.
Tammara,
Yes, the more information you get from a variety of people, the more perspectives you get. It's a good thing. Thanks!
I think student feedback is of paramount importance. We must be discerning when receiving it, for sure. But it's an excellent way to better understand if our intentions had the impact that we desired. And that is of tremendous value when attempting to close the loop.
Repetition is probably the least appreciated teaching tool there is. Great response here Richard.
I think having a "peer review" by a fellow colleague would be a good idea, in addition to the student reviews. Also engaging another colleague outside of your subject matter would give you additional perspective.
Rubiela,
It's good to get a variety of feedback from various evaluations. Students and facilitators will provide different feedback. Nice job.
Eric,
As long as the supervisor can get into your class and see how you are teaching, that's good feedback. They may also look at course evaluations from students and that's feedback too. Varying your feedback gives you more information. Thanks!
I believe that there are two main evaluations to an online course that are key to close the loop and make modifications where needed and those are the student evaluation and the facilitator or instructor evaluation of the session on hand and the modules, assignments, lab session and related.
Greetings.
This is an interesting question. I have been instructing online courses since 2002. The most important kind of feedback that I receive is from my supervisor. An excellent supervisor will be able to know whether or not I am doing excellent work. After all, all that I do in my courses is recorded.
Best, Eric Freeman
Rebecca and William,
Thank you for continuing the conversation. We all do Ned this reminder. Thanks.
That's a mature and selfless response, William. thank you for leading the example of "humility" with leadership. It's a dilemma, in my mind--this teaching profession--with one hat we represent the expert in our field, the deliverer of new information, the assessor of assignments, the ultimate Wizard of the Classroom; and with the other hat, and some have yet to find that hat, we must demonstrate empathy, wisdom, compassion, trustfulness, worthiness, and humility. I am a professional mediator. I made a big note inside my folder that I use for mediations. The note reads, "It's NOT ABOUT YOU, REBECCA." This mantra helps keep me focused on the disputants' issues, not mine and not what I think they should do to resolve the conflict. It's referred to as appreciative inquiry, AI. We all could use a reminder of AI in the classroom as well, do you think?
Michael,
Right on. One size does not fit all. The more variety you have in getting information the more information you will get. You can then determine the best way to use the informaion yo uhave to improve the course and learning process. Thanks!
There is no one easy "fits all" answer here. There needs to be multiple evaluations created from interviews to self-evaluations to portfolios to good old-fashioned summative exams. Must be holistic in nature and is a never-ending process.
David,
That is a good combination. A variety of feedback provides essential varying information. I like your "nugget" analogy. Thanks.
The types of evaluation I think would provide me with the most comprehensive feedback is grade analysis combined with student evaluation. Grade analysis is important, especially when you include the number of “withdrawalsâ€. Is there something about this course that is “scaring students offâ€?
Students who withdrawal are not around to fill out evaluations. Looking at the grade distribution can give insight on the relative difficulty of the class. Student evaluations are very valuable but like “panning for gold†you often need to sift through many generalized comments to find the “nugget†– a bit of constructive criticism that will help you improve your class.
Dennis,
To encourage more participation in course evaluations by students, I have provide minimal extra credit or some schools do not assign final grades until course evaluations have been submitted. I also conduct formative evaluations during the course and that gets the students used to completing evaluations and they are more likely to do the final evaluation as well. But, as you said, use whatever datay ou get. ;-)
Dennis,
You are right. Peer feedback is different from student feedback as they are looking at it from a totally different perspective. The more feedback we get from a variety of audiences, the more we also see what we are doing differently. Thanks!
I do get value from both student comments and numeric scores on student evaluations. At most institutions, the rate of return is less than 50% of the students, but I'll take whatever data I can find. Another tool one institution uses is a reflection for the last discussion board. I find the added detail there often helpful in evaluating the course.
I find peer feedback some of the best I can get. Most of the time a peer can offer better insights than I get from other evaluation tools.
